The Obama Administration has announced a new communications effort to counteract the “messaging” of ISIS. The new “Center for Global Engagement,” to be located at the State Department, will be charged with “counter-messaging” ISIS (ISIL) communications. The task of the center can be simply stated: to persuade those who might follow ISIS or other terrorist groups that following them is a very wrong idea. 

President Obama is delivering remarks at a mosque in Baltimore on Wednesday afternoon, in the first visit to an American mosque he's made during his presidency. His visit, which will also include a roundtable with Muslim community members, is intended to "reaffirm the importance of religious freedom" to life in America, the White House says.

Like all countries, America has faced times of trial and struggle, yet it has prevailed due to a strength that is derived from its diversity. Its citizens celebrate this strength during Black History Month, when we honor contributions made by African Americans — including in the areas of civil rights and diplomacy.

The U.S. House of Representatives on Monday passed the Electrify Africa Act, after nearly two years of trying to get the measure through both chambers of Congress. […] The bill will provide a framework for a major public-private partnership between the United States and sub-Saharan African countries to help millions of people gain access to reliable electricity.

On February 2, the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs will host the finalists for the “Peer to Peer [P2P]: Challenging Extremism” initiative. The initiative is an innovative partnership between the U.S. government and universities around the world. 

A recent article in The New York Times, “U.S. Support of Gay Rights in Africa May Have Done More Harm Than Good,” has prompted a great deal of discussions among those engaged in international advocacy on the human rights of LGBT people. 

The State Department is revamping its floundering efforts to curb recruiting by the Islamic State and other terrorist groups, senior U.S. officials tell Foreign Policy, in response to growing dissatisfaction in the White House and Congress at existing attempts to stop the spread of the extremists’ ideology. The changes ordered by Secretary of State John Kerry, which have not previously been reported, shift significant power to a single bureau at the State Department tasked with coordinating all counter-extremism efforts.